How has Griffin achieved this growth over the years?
Lee Broxson of Griffin (LB): I have been at Griffin over 15 years and during this time I have seen a lot of change but the general ethos has remained the same. Our job is to make it easy and profitable for resellers to buy the widest range of connectivity and data network solutions available at the best possible pricing from one integrator. We understand that our channel pays our wages and that we only achieve success when they are successful, so we work hard to get the best rates from the carriers, invest in automated systems and strive to provide the best possible service. We don’t always get it right but we try to listen to our customers to understand the difficulties they face and try implement solutions quickly.
One of the things I am most proud of is our sales and marketing programmes, helping resellers to identify and close connectivity and data network solutions within their base. We have been around long enough to know how to identify the quick wins and how to avoid the common pitfalls and we share this knowledge with our channel. We run two programmes The Ethernet Sales Generator and The Data Revenue Generator one is a 5 step programme and the other is a 6 step programme taking resellers from a standing start to making Ethernet and MPLS networks a valid and profitable revenue stream. Marketing run events up and down the country to kick off the programmes and our sales team pick it up and run each stage with their accounts. In just a couple of years we have gone from selling no Ethernet circuits to over 150 a month.
Cherie Howlett of Griffin (CH): My role is to help develop the sales and marketing programmes to support revenue growth in our Partner base. We help our resellers upgrade their broadband customers to faster circuits when they need to leading to complex data networks when end users are ready. There is no doubt in my mind that Ethernet is the new breakthrough product of this decade. End users are demanding faster, more reliable connectivity to the Internet and to the cloud; new carriers have entered the market improving coverage and driving down prices. The recent introductions of innovative new Ethernet products like EFM and FTTC Ethernet have further fuelled demand. End users will soon be able to buy a symmetrical 20Mb product almost anywhere in the UK for under £200 a month and have it delivered in weeks rather than months and we can help our resellers with an efficient process of identifying and closing these opportunities without spending a fortune on marketing.
How have things changed at Griffin since your acquisition by MDNX?
LB: MDNX bought Griffin in August last year bringing significant investment enabling us to enhance our network, systems and product range at a much faster rate.
In just a few short months the team has integrated the networks and is busy migrating partners across to an enhanced quoting, ordering and support platform called MATRIX. Griffin partners will shortly have access to a wider range of connectivity products including DSL, FTTC and Ethernet. Our customers will be able to quote services from all the major carriers and diagnose and repair faults. The system includes a monitoring portal that can be extended to end users to track usage and help diagnose issues. Users can also view their order inventory and invoices online. The feedback we have received so far has been positive. Partners have been impressed with the quick Ethernet quoting functionality from multiple-carriers and the simplicity of the automated ordering process.
What’s next for Griffin?
CH: We are gearing up for growth. Once all of our partners have access to our new ordering platform marketing are on a mission to help partners upsell their DSL bases to Ethernet and upgrade their Ethernet partners to private networks. We are working on launching key products in demand from our customers such as TTB FTTC Ethernet, VoIP, QoS and advanced monitoring and security add-ons. We have more training events in the pipeline and will continue to roll out our two sales and marketing programmes to help our channel benefit from the current boom for faster more reliable Ethernet.
LB: We predict a significant rise in demand for faster, more reliable connectivity in 2013. Prices will continue to fall and resellers will need a supplier who can provide the widest choice at the best pricing with a smooth order delivery process. As SMBs take advantage of Ethernet’s faster speeds and competitive pricing, ADSL in the business market will give way to Ethernet and the cloud will finally start to take off. Our aim is to take our channel as smoothly and profitably as possible through this process.